Chouhan wins again in Madhya Pradesh as BJP claims two-thirds of Assembly seats

Madhya Pradesh voted the BJP in for the third consecutive time, giving it more than two-thirds of the total 230 Assembly seats and catapulting Shivraj Singh into the elite group of chief ministers with three terms to their names.

The saffron party wrested 165 seats, 22 more seats than the last Assembly election; the Congress got 58 seats, 13 fewer than five years ago.

In the 2008 Assembly elections, the BJP has bagged 143 seats while the Congress managed to get 71 seats. Chouhan, who comfortably won from both Budhni and Vidisha seats, thanked the people of his state for helping the BJP retain power for a record third time in Madhya Pradesh.

"People of MP have showered their love and blessings to BJP for the third time, I am highly grateful to them. It is a victory of the people of MP, our organisation, party's ideology and our workers. We will leave no stone unturned for the development of Madhya Pradesh," Chouhan said.

By voting for Chouhan, the saffron party's kisan putra with a commoner image, the voters rejected the opposition Congress party led by 42-year-old Jyotiraditya Scindia, scion of erstwhile Scindia royal family, in the state literally located in the heart of India.

Delighted: Chouhan's wife Sadhna Singh and sons Kartikey (right) and Kunal flash the hat-trick sign after he scoops a third term

The BJP has been ruling the state for the last ten years. Chouhan's stint at the chief minister's post began on November 29, 2005 when he replaced incumbent Babulal Gaur.

Possibly the most significant element in the BJP's electoral strategy was the twin projection of a development-friendly government and a people-friendly chief minister. Throwing his weight behind this social engineering formula was 56-year-old Chouhan.

The gamble with this formula helped Chouhan beat an anti-incumbent mood prevailing against several ministers and legislators. Acknowledged as a quiet party worker, Chouhan reached to the people, projecting himself a development-friendly leader committed towards the welfare of the common man.

The softly-spoken 54-year-old leader was given full support in this regard by party-men and BJP general secretary and in-charge of the state, Ananth Kumar.

Singh's supporters and party workers celebrate after the results are declared

In the opposition camp, a section of Congress leaders blamed the poor show on the party bosses in New Delhi who, they claimed, were unable to judge the candidates and matters in Madhya Pradesh.

Chairman of the State Congress committee Jyotiraditya Scindia accepted the comprehensive defeat of his party.

"I take responsibility for the defeat as I was the chairman of campaign committee in MP. It's the victory of Shivraj Singh Chouhan not Narendra Modi. Obviously it is very disappointing for us. This calls for a major reconstruction and introspection in the party. This was something we never expected," Scindia said.

Moreover, the Congress' in-fighting did no good to the Opposition. The various camps in the state Congress were led by both leaders like Digvijaya Singh, Kamal Nath, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Suresh Pachouri, Arun Yadav, Ajay Singh and Sajan Singh Verma.